Gerard Pique ‘under investigation over claims he received £34MILLION in deal to send Super Cup to Saudi Arabia’
GERARD PIQUE is under investigation over claims he could receive up to £34million from Saudi Arabia, according to reports in Spain.
His company is alleged to have received a payment of £3.4m-a-year to help broker the deal that now sees the Spanish Super Cup played in Saudi Arabia rather than Spain.
Former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique is being investigated for corruptionRex
The first time the cup was played over in Saudi in its current format was in 2019 and it has remained that way since.
Judge Delia Rodrigo has been investigating the case in the Spanish courts and has now named Pique as one of the individuals under investigation, according to El Pais.
The paper says there is evidence that the RFEF received £34million from the Saudi government to bring the cup to Saudi Arabia, and that Pique’s company, Kosmos, was paid £3.4m as part of the deal.
After the agreement was struck in 2019, it was extended by another four years.
That deal has the potential to extend to ten, which would see the RFEF receive £340m in total and Pique receive £34m.
The deal is alleged to not have gone through a due and fair process.
The investigation that has named Pique is part of a wider one investigating the Spanish football federation’s decision to move the cup without proper consultation.
Among those named is former president Luis Rubiales, who was embroiled in scandal last summer when he ‘kissed’ Spanish striker Jenni Hermoso after the Spanish women’s team won the World Cup.
GettyPique dated Shakira between 2011 and 2022[/caption]
SplashHe has since moved on with Clara Chia[/caption]
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Current president of the Spanish FA Pedro Rocha is at the centre of the corruption investigation led by Judge Rodrigo, which Pique has been named in.
Rocha was vice-president of the economic area of the Spanish FA at the time of the deal to take the cup to Saudi.
It was his duty to convene the economic commission to discuss the deal as part of fair and due process.
He is alleged to have failed to do so, however, leaving the deal to pass without opposition.
Pique retired in November 2022, while playing for Barcelona.
He has since gone on to focus on his business career adjacent to football.
His company, Kosmos, which is now embroiled in the Saudi Super Cup scandal, helped launch a 7-a-side football tournament called the King’s League.
The tournament sees famous Twitch streamers manage teams, and have access to former legends such as Sergio Aguero and Ronaldinho as part of their player rosters.
He also recently went public with new girlfriend Clara Chia having split with long-term partner Shakira in 2022.
Life and times of Gerard Pique
GERARD Pique retired as one of Barcelona’s most successful ever defenders in 2022.
During his career, he won the Champions League with Barca three times, nine LaLiga titles, seven Spanish cups and six Spanish supercups.
Alongside Carles Puyol, he was a cornerstone of Pep Guardiola’s Barca defence. Additionally, he won a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain.
Away from the field he was known globally as Shakira’s boyfriend.
The two got together in 2011 having met at the 2010 World Cup and went on to have two children.
They went through a bitter split in 2022, with both taking shots at each other publicly.
The defender also called time on his football career, and had moved closer to the political side of the game while still playing.
Many speculated that he would one day run to be president of Barcelona.
His company, Kosmos, was allegedly involved in bringing the Spanish Super Cup to Saudia Arabia in a multi-million pound deal now under investigation by Spanish authorities.
That company also runs The Kings League, a 7-a-side tournament run by Pique.
The operation sees teams run by Twitch streamers and features legendary former players on the field.
Those that have made an appearance include Ronaldinho, Sergio Aguero and Eden Hazard.
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